I feel like I'm always behind on something when it comes to this blog.  I've got books I read back in November sitting on my desk still waiting to be reviewed, emails I haven't answered, scheduled reviews I'm not getting to ... heck, I haven't updated my All Reviews list since 2013!  Yikes.  I'm still plugging along, though, clinging to the dream that one day I will be all caught up.  Think it will ever actually happen?  Yeah, me neither.  Oh well, a girl can dream ...

For now, we're going to do a little this and that:

First of all, I should mention that a couple weeks ago, my husband and I took a fun road trip.  Our destination:  Salt Lake City, Utah.  In the LDS church, we all have "jobs" (I use the term loosely, since it's voluntary) we do to help our congregations (known as "wards") run smoothly.  In addition to being a Cub Scout den leader, I'm also a family history consultant, as is my husband.  Even if you're not LDS, you probably know what an emphasis the church places on families—not just strengthening the bonds we have in the present, but also creating links between us and our ancestors.  Thus, each ward has 2-3 people assigned to help others work on their genealogy.  Since the husband and I are still learning the ins and outs of this job, we decided to head to SLC for the annual RootsTech genealogy conference.  It's a big deal (like, 20,000+ attendees big).  We spent the days going to classes, listening to some great speakers (A.J. Jacobs, Laura and Jenna Bush, Donny Osmond, Nicole Pikus-Pace, Al Fox, etc.), and enjoying performances by local celebs like Alex Boyé, David Archuleta, and Studio C.  It was fun.  A great trip.

Even though we spent time relaxing at our very comfortable B&B, I didn't get tons of reading done.  However, I did have a very cool bookish experience.  Salt Lake City boasts the biggest family history library in the world.  As you can imagine, it has a huge collection of family history books, including one my cousin wrote about our Clark/Cochran ancestors.  I've been interested in learning more about these early adventurers for awhile now and couldn't wait to see what information the book contained.  Since SLC has the only physical copy of the volume, I insisted we drop by the family history center so I could copy some of its pages.  I worried there might be copyright issues, but the kind, helpful senior missionaries who serve at the center assured me that—if I had the time—I could copy the entire tome onto a thumb drive without risking jail time.  As I gleefully scanned the pages, my husband did some Googling and discovered that the author of the book had, in fact, died ten years ago—almost to the day.  We figured there was no better way to honor this cousin I never knew than by sharing his life work with the next generation of our family.

I know this will make me sound like a senior citizen, but genealoy is a fun, exciting work.  If you're at all interested in learning about your family's history, check out: www.familysearch.org.  You don't have to be LDS to use this free service.  It's an incredible resource, available to everyone, anywhere in the world.

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Speaking of all things LDS, I've signed up once again to participate in the Whitney Awards Read 'Em All Challenge.  The Whitney Awards are given out annually for the best novels published in a given year by authors who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Hosted jointly by the lovely ladies at New LDS Fiction and LDS Women's Book Review, this challenge encourages people to read all of the books that have been nominated to receive a 2014 Whitney. This is no small task as there are—wait for it—40 novels in total.  As part of the Whitney Academy, I get the privilege of casting my vote to help determine the winners, so I'm going to read as many as I can.  Wish me luck!

While you have to be a member of the Academy in order to vote for the winners, you don't have to be part of the Academy or even LDS to participate in this challenge.  Anyone can sign up.  The finalists are, in general, not LDS novels at all, just general fiction that can be enjoyed by readers of any—or no—religion.  You can win weekly prizes and a nice grand prize.  If you're interested, hop on over to this post and sign up.

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Last but not least, you may recall the giveaway I had going for a copy of Fairest by Marissa Meyer.  It seems like ancient history, but I'm finally going to announce the winner!  Rafflecopter picked a random entrant, sooo ... Congratulations to:

Nothing about 33-year-old Autumn Rain is typical - not her looks (her eyes are different colors), not her upbringing (her adoptive parents were hippies), not her views on life (microwaves, shoes, and unorganic food = evil). So, she's not all that surprised when she discovers she can read "imprints," or the memories and strong emotions humans leave behind on treasured objects. Happy imprints, like the ones Autumn feels on the book of poetry her parents wrote for each other, bring her joy. Others are so full of hate, violence and rage that they can bring Autumn to her knees. This ability isn't something she wants, but she knows it can be used for good, if only she can steel herself against its sometimes frightening power.
When a grieving couple comes to Autumn, desperate to find their missing daughter, she feels obligated to help. The images she gets off the girl's necklace are confusing, but they seem to point to a commune in the Oregon wilderness. Although it seems the girl went willingly, something about her imprints makes Autumn uneasy. When a third person comes asking about a missing girl, whose disappearance also seems to be linked to Harmony Farm, Autumn gets imprints so troubling she can't get them out of her mind. She's not one to judge people based on their looks or lifestyles, but she's also not one to let innocent people suffer. Knowing she can't go to the police with only what she sees in her head, Autumn vows to check out the commune herself. Is it the peaceful, idyllic community it claims to be or something much more sinister? Using her special ability, plus her more down-to-Earth detective skills, she's determined to find out.
Of course, not everyone's thrilled about Autumn's interest in what could be a dangerous cult. Her twin sister's terrified, especially since she's "seeing" some weird images herself. And Detective Shannon Martin would, of course, prefer that Autumn keep her nose out of his case. Then there's Jake Ryan, Autumn's best friend, who wants to protect her the way he would a little sister - only sisterly feelings are not at all what she wants from him. Add in a crazy Harmony Farmer, a mesmerizing spiritual leader, and a very alluring math-teacher-turned-private-investigator and Autumn Rain's got more problems than she can handle. Oh, and the three-day fast required of new Harmony Farm recruits means she'll be doing it all on an empty stomach - a very dangerous prospect indeed.
Although I didn't like Imprints by Rachel Ann Nunes as much as I wanted to, I did like it a lot more than I expected to. While mediums are plentiful in fiction and the whole cult investigation plot has been done before, Nunes does a few things that sets Imprints apart. First of all, I found the idea of imprints themselves interesting. The concept's not anything new, but I don't remember ever reading about a heroine who purposely surrounds herself with items that exude happy, positive impressions as a way of blocking out negative ones. I also like the twin aspect of the book - the idea of identical sisters having the same type of talents fascinates me. Also, the fact that Autumn's love interest (well, one of them) happens to be a bi-racial man with a learning disability also intrigues me. He doesn't have a lot of personality other than that, but I at least appreciate that he's different from other leading men. On the flip side, Autumn's so purposely different, she becomes a cliche. She behaves exactly as you would expect a Hippie Chick to behave. And while I don't mind me a flower child character, I detest Autumn, who's an insufferable blend of self-righteous and whiny. My disconnect with the main character, plus the existence of some plot points that were unexplained, unrealistic and unfulfilling, explains why I gave Imprints only an average grade. Still, the novel has enough going on to be interesting, enjoyable and even sequel-worthy. I won't be holding my breath for the next Autumn Rain novel, but you better believe I will be checking it out. Eventually.
(Readalikes: Reminded me a little bit of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and The Sight by Judy Blundell)
Grade: C
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for violence/frightening situations
To the FTC, with love: I bought Imprints from Deseret Book with some of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.

(Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for The Scorch Trials, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from The Maze Runner. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Thomas and the other Gladers thought beating the maze would be the end - of their confusion, of their suffering, of their fear. They thought wrong. Escaping the maze brought a little respite, but not much and not for long. Now they are, once again, fighting for survival in a treacherous arena, under the watchful eye of WICKED. Once again, they have no choice. Once again, they're battling for their lives.

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mild language and violence

To the FTC, with love: I bought The Scorch Trials with some of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.

For 11-year-old Olivia "Livie" Mouton, life on the bayou has always seemed about perfect. Sure, she clashes with her mother and gets bossed around by her older sister, but what does that matter when she can paddle away in her pirogue, go frogging with her father, or raise baby alligators? Although her family - especially her mother - urges Livie to "act like a lady," she's happiest when she's outside, romping through the swamps like a wild animal.

If you read this blog regularly, you've probably heard me talk about my love/hate relationship with LDS fiction (meaning books written by members of the church for other members of the church). So much of it is cheesy, overwritten, unrealistic and just ... not good. But, I believe that it's improving. And I believe in supporting the crafting of books that are clean, uplifting and celebrate the unique lifestyles of LDS people. I also love how LDS authors are taking the mainstream publishing world by storm. One glance at the YA shelves at your local bookstore proves the popularity of writers like Stephenie Meyer, Shannon Hale, James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Ally Condie, Bree Despain and many more.

Since there are so many LDS authors out there, it makes sense to have a literary award just for them. This is where the Whitneys come in. Named for Orson F. Whitney, an early church apostle who prophesied that we would have Shakespeares and Miltons of our own, the Whitney Awards honor LDS writers who excel in their field. Awards are given every year to the books/authors who receive the most votes from a large panel of experts including authors, booksellers, book bloggers and more.

To encourage people to read the finalists for this year's competition, the lovely ladies over at LDS Women's Book Review are hosting the Read 'Em All Challenge. The challenge involves reading all 35 of the books which are in the running for awards. It's a lot, but the hostesses are making it worth it - members of the Whitney Academy can enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card, while those who are not are in the running for a $50 card. Nice, right? Even if you don't win the big prizes, there are lots of fun books on this year's list and you may be surprised by how many you've already read (Matched, Paranormalcy, The Scorch Trials, etc.). To sign up for this fun contest, click here.

Happy Reading!